FAU's potential lured new defensive coordinator to Boca Raton

Pete Rekstis was hoping he would have a good feeling when he came to Florida Atlantic to interview for the job of defensive coordinator.

New coach Carl Pelini had painted a pretty picture of the program he had inherited, with its new stadium and position in the heart of an era loaded with high school talent.

Rekstis was not disappointed. “The sky is the limit here,” Rekstis said after a recent practice. “Certainly we are sitting in the middle of a bunch of high school talent, and couple that with the facilities and the opportunity to work with coach Pelini, I am very excited.”

Rekstis was not an easy get for Pelini, nor was he the first choice for the job.

Pelini’s first hire after being named FAU coach on Dec. 5 was Marvin Sanders as defensive coordinator. Sanders had been the defensive secondary coach from 2008-2010 at Nebraska, when Pelini was the defensive coordinator.

But Sanders lasted just two months in the job, as he left in February when Lake Kiffin offered him the job of defensive secondary coach at Southern California.

Pelini had his first defection and needed to find a defensive coordinator after most staffs had already been set. He turned to Retskis, who, like most of the coaches he hired, Pelini had a personal connection with.

Pelini is from Youngstown, Ohio, and Rekstis, who was born in Cleveland, graduated from Youngstown State and coached there, but that is not where they made their connection.

That happened when Pelini was the defensive line coach at Ohio University and Rekstis was the defensive coordinator and defensive secondary coach at Kent State from 2005-07. They were foes in the Mid American Conference, but often traded notes on common opponents and built a relationship that continued after Pelini moved to Nebraska.

So when Saunders left, Pelini contacted Rekstis, who had just finished his first season as defensive coordinator at Miami of Ohio, another MAC member.

While filling the nine assistant positions on this staff, Pelini had an advantage with most because he was offering promotions, with some coaches coming from the junior college or Football Championship Subdivision or from assistant to coordinator.

But Rekstis was already a coordinator, and then there was the cost of living difference between Boca Raton and Oxford, Ohio.

“It’s a tougher sell,” Pelini said.

Add to that the Owls were coming off a 1-11 season that had them ranked as one of the worst teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

But Rekstis was not scared away, and so far he likes how the defensive has responded to the new coaching staff.

“I think we have a willing group. Athletically they are very talented and they have been willing to learn and adjust to a new way,” Rekstis said.

Rekstis said the 1-11 season has helped both the players and the coaches.

“They don’t like what happened. That has been a constant message – If you want things to change, you need to change. And they have embraced that,” Rekstis said.

Under Rekstis, the Owls are going back to a 4-3 formation after one year with the 3-4. More importantly, he is also trying to instill a toughness that the new coaching staff felt was lacking.

“We still have a long way to go. The encouraging thing is our players have responded to what we have asked them to do,” Rekstis said. “Hopefully we are joining this program at the right time.”